A 65-year-old man who claims he was 12 when a Boy Scout leader and coach with two Preston minor sports leagues began sexually abusing him, is suing all three organizations for $5 million.
In a statement of claim filed last Thursday with the Ottawa Superior Court of Justice, the man who resides in the Town of Buckhorn, north of Peterborough, names Boy Scouts of Canada, the Preston Minor Hockey League and Preston Minor Baseball for their roles in the abuse which began in 1971.
The two sports organizations are identified as being operated by the City of Cambridge and are further referred to in the statement of claim as the Cambridge Minor Hockey Association (CMHA) and the Cambridge Minor Baseball Association (CMBA).
Statements of defence have not been filed and none of the claims have been tested in court.
The plaintiff alleges the perpetrator of the offences, who is not named in the lawsuit, provided mentoring, coaching and teaching and was in a position of trust that provided close proximity with the plaintiff.
The claim alleges Scouts Canada and both the CMHA and CMBA owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and had the responsibility to recruit, train and supervise all of its employees and coaches so they could help develop confident, capable and well-rounded youth.
That duty of care was breached when the plaintiff alleges one of the leaders and coaches used his position of authority and trust to "exert influence and control over him, prey upon him and sexually abuse him."
The plaintiff alleges the abuse included fondling and sexual intercourse that "occurred on a regular and repeated basis, increasing in frequency, nature and intensity as it progressed."
That abuse continued for several years and was kept secret because of a "dependency relationship" the coach fostered with the plaintiff.
The claim alleges the sexual abuse, battery and assault inflicted pain and suffering, mental suffering, humiliation and degradation on the plaintiff.
The plaintiff alleges the coach's deviant behaviour was enabled by the organizations who allowed the abuser to use their premises for him to engage in his behaviour "for a considerable period of time without the risk of getting caught."
"They failed to properly supervise their employees," were "wilfully blind to the existence of the behaviour" and failed to instruct or educate staff on the possibility of such deviant behaviours, the lawsuit alleges.
They also failed to investigate the abuser's background or warn the man's immediate supervisors of his shortcomings as a coach and had no proper system of self reporting, the claim alleges.
Once they were "fully aware" of the alleged abuser's "shortcomings" the organizations made no effort to locate and assist any victims and failed to adequately counsel and assist the plaintiff, the claim alleges.
The plaintiff alleges Scouts, CMHA and CMBA knew or ought to have known the alleged perpetrator had the propensity to engage in such deviant behaviours.
Damages included in the claim range from physical pain to humiliation and depression leading to impaired ability to function as a normal adult. The plaintiff claims his ability to earn an income has been impaired due to the emotional trauma, he's had difficulty establishing relationships and has symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Costs for medical treatment and counselling have been expensive and he has and will continue to suffer economic losses.
He seeks punitive damages as well, saying the conduct of the defendants "was harsh, high handed, malicious and as such should be punished."